Merocoris distinctus feeding on flower stem of Coreopsis lanceolata.
I kind of lucked out with this shot – I’d just gotten my new camera two weeks earlier and can’t say I really knew what I was doing at this point. I had first noticed and photographed the bug sitting on top of the flower but totally blew the exposure due to the flower’s bright yellow color. My clumsy approach also caused the insect to move under the flower, where I watched it settle down and begin feeding before trying another shot. The dorsal surface of this species is mottled gray and brown, allowing the bug to blend in with most backgrounds. The underside of the body, however, is thickly matted with white hair, providing a very nice contrast with the black background that I stumbled upon achieved in this photo to emphasize the distinctive appearance of this often-overlooked insect.
Photo Details: Canon 50D w/ 100mm macro lens (ISO 100, 1/250 sec, f/14), Canon MT-24EX flash (1/4 ratio), undiffused. Typical post-processing (levels, minor cropping, unsharp mask).
REFERENCES:
Adler, P. H. and A. G. Wheeler. 1984. Extra-phytophagous food sources of Hemiptera Heteroptera: Bird droppings, dung, and carrion. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 57(1):21-27.
Engelhardt, G. P. 1912. A hemipteron on carrion. Journalof the New York Entomological Society 20:294.
Slater, J. A. and R. M. Baranowski. 1978. How to Know the True Bugs. W. C. Brown Company Publishers, 256 pp.
Copyright © Ted C. MacRae 2010
Beetles In The Bush 
I used to collect another species of Merocoris in Southern California. It has been a long time since I have seen one, although your species does occur in Virginia.
I guess that would be Merocoris curtatus.
Quite a distinctive shot of this chunky little critter 🙂
Thanks, Adrian!
Your timing is impeccable, Ted. I was just looking at some photos of a similar bug that meandered about my patio one afternoon. I was about to hunt down its identity, but thanks to your post I know the answer. Thanks for your timely help!
Always glad to be of service, Jason 🙂
Years ago, Colwell Cook and I did some studies on another Coreidae, the squash bug. It will only develop and mate on squash. However, it will feed on a remarkable variety of plants (although) not for very long at any time. We concluded that they were opportunistic feeders in the sense of ingesting just enough water and nutrients to get them to the next plant. If the next plant was squash, they would stay. If not, they would move on.
Many of the predatory bugs, such as Podisus, will opportunistically feed on plants. People who rear them often feed them green beans.
My impression of the Heteroptera is that the group as a whole feeds opportunistically, but reproduction and development requires more specific food sources.
-JNeal
Interesting. I suppose the evolutionary origins of the order as a whole are predaceous, at least based on the habits of most of the more basal families. There also seems to have been a lot of switching from predatory to plant-feeders and back to predatory again. You’re right – a very opportunistic order.
Wonderful shot of this unique bug. I had no idea that they also feed on carrion and bird dropping 😀
Thank you, Kurt!
I’m seeing a lot of Alydus on on persimmon-sweetened coyote and raccoon droppings the last few weeks (butterflies, grasshoppers, too).
Yeah, well don’t forgot to stir through the droppings with a stick to find the little Onthophagus dung beetles, too! 🙂
Now Ted, you trying to stir up some sh…?
Always! 😀
That bug looks like a tough customer. I’ll have to keep an eye out on my Coreopsis lanceolata to see if any of them wander this far north. Any idea what the dense white pubescence on the underside is for? Even the legs and antennae seem unusually hairy for a coreid, but I suppose that could be because it is such a good picture.
Hi Dave. Unfortunately, I doubt this species gets up into your neck of the woods. I think Anne (below) has it right regarding the function of the white underside, considering how cryptically colored they are on their dorsal surface. Strange, though – like most coreid bugs they do have stink glands for defense, but maybe it’s a case of the more tools in the arsenal the better. As small as it is, it may not pack enough of a punch in its stink glands to effectively deter predation on stink alone. I also note that they are a much harder-bodied species than other coreids, at least the smaller ones which tend to be rather more flimsy flattish.
Every new picture brings forth a thousand questions!
I’ll be on the lookout for this tiny bug on my goldenrod. I love that your photo shows the white underside that helps camouflage him from below.
Thanks, Anne. I think you might have answered Dave’s question above.
I just caught one yesterday on blooming Desert Broom in Sonoita, AZ. Same place as another one last year. Don’t know the sp yet.
In the west it should be Merocoris curtatus.